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Hon.  Walter  Lowrie  : 


BY  THE 


KEV.  JOHN  D.  WELLS,  D.D., 

Minister  of  the  South  Third  Street  Presbyterian  Church,  Williamsburgh,  L.  I, 


PUBLISHED  BY  REQUEST. 


NEW  YORK,  23  CENTRE  STREET. 

1869. 


J 


HON.   WALTER  LOWRIE. 


The  beloved  man  whose  name  stands  at  the  head  of 
this  sketch,  was  born  in  Edinburgh,  Scotland,  December 
10th,  1784.  In  the  year  1792  his  parents  came  to  this 
country,  and  after  a  short  sojourn  in  Huntingdon  county, 
settled  in  Butler  county,  Pennsylvania.  Bringing  with 
them  their  knowledge  and  love  of  the  truth,  their  family 
altar,  instruction,  and  discipline,  and  their  thorough  Pres- 
byterianism,  they  helped  to  give  tone  and  character  to 
the  civil  and  religious  institutions  of  that  part  of  their 
adopted  State.  Western  Pennsylvania  remains  to  this 
day  a  stronghold  of  Presbyterianism. 

Walter  felt  the  quiet  and  powerful  influence  of  home 
culture.  Most  of  his  early  secular  instruction  was  re- 
ceived from  the  lips  of  his  parents.  By  them,  too,  he 
was  made  acquainted  with  the  truths  of  God's  Word  and 
the  Standards  of  our  Church.  In  return  for  this  Chris- 
tian nurture,  he  gave  himself,  till  early  manhood,  to  the 
toil  of  a  farmer  under  his  father's  direction,  learning 
some  great  practical  lessons,  which  turned  to  excellent 
account  at  later  periods  of  his  life. 

After  his  conversion,  which  occurred  when  he  was 
eighteen  years  old,  he  entered  upon  a  course  of  study, 
with  the  ministry  in  view.     Under  the  instruction  of  the 


Rev.  John  McPherriii,  Le  pursued  the  Latin,  Greek,  and 
Hebrew  languages  with  great  diligence  and  success. 
Inured  to  toil  from  boyhood,  having  good  health,  a  strong 
body,  and  a  mind  of  fine  texture  and  firm  grasp,  he  made 
light  of  difficulties  that  few  comparatively  would  have 
overcome.  He  was  borne  forward,  too,  by  a  fervent 
desire  to  preach  the  gospel.  It  became  clear,  however, 
after  a  while,  that  God  was  preparing  him  for  a  different 
work.  Barriers  were  thrown  and  kept  in  his  way,  until, 
with  no  change  in  his  high  estimate  of  the  sacred  office  to 
which  he  had  aspired,  and  hoping  to  resume  his  studies, 
he  laid  them  aside  and  entered  upon  the  duties  of  secular 
life. 

In  1811  he  was  elected  to  the  Senate  of  Pennsylvania, 
and  after  serving  the  State  seven  years  in  this  office,  he 
was  sent  to  the  Senate  of  the  United  States. 

At  the  expiration  of  his  term  of  service,  in  1824,  he 
was  made  Secretary  of  the  Senate,  and  lield  the  office 
twelve  years.  •  Owing  to  the  peculiarly  delicate  nature  of 
this  office,  and  the  responsibility  connected  with  it,  it 
did  not  change  incumbents  with  successive  administra- 
tions. Mr.  Lowrie's  predecessors  enjoyed  its  honours 
and  emoluments  for  life,  and  he  might  have  done  the 
same. 

Indeed  he  was  earnestly  solicited  by  members  of  the 
Senate,  without  reference  to  party  distinctions,  to  retain 
the  office.  But  his  purpose  was  taken  and  nothing  could 
move  him.  A  call  louder  than  that  of  his  peers  in  the 
State  had  come  to  him — the  call  he  believed  of  the  Head 
of  the  Church,  to  take  charge  of  the  Foreign  Missionary 
work,  to  which,  as  a  denomination,  we  were  then  setting 
our  hand. 

He  was  elected  Corresponding  Secretary  of  the  Western 
Foreign    Missionary    Society    in    1836.      This    office    he 


accepted,  passing  under  the  care  of  the  General  Assem- 
bly, when  the  Board  of  Foreign  Missions  was  consti- 
tuted in  1837.  He  continued  in  the  faithful  discharge 
of  its  varied  duties,  until,  disabled  by  the  infirmities  of 
old  age,  he  laid  it  down  in  1868.  He  had  not  drawn 
his  salary  for  several  years  before  that  date,  and  would 
not  retain  even  the  office,  after  he  felt  himself  no  longer 
able  to  discharge  its  duties. 

Mr.  Lowrie's  public  life  as  a  statesman  can  be  reviewed 
only  in  an  extended  memoir,  which  I  hope  we  shall  have 
in  due  season;  still  I  cannot  pass  it  without  two  or  three 
suggestive  statements. 

It  covered  a  period  of  twenty-five  years,  from  1811  to 
1836.  He  was  twenty-seven  years  old  when  he  entered 
the  Senate  of  Pennsylvania,  and  fifty-two  when  he  left 
the  Senate  of  the  United  States.  For  a  quarter  of  a 
century,  therefore,  he  was  the  associate  of  public  men, 
the  peer  of  great  men — and  was  recognized  by  them  and 
his  constituents  as  himself  a  great  man.  Dr.  Paxton,  in 
his  Funeral  Address,  published  in  the  Foreign  Missionary 
last  month,  tells  us  that  "Webster,  Clay,  Calhoun,  Ran- 
dolph, Benton,  and  many  others  scarcely  less  illustrious, 
were  members  of  the  Senate"  at  that  time,  and  adds: 
"Among  these  distinguished  Senators,  Walter  Lowrie 
occupied  a  position  of  honourable  prominence.  His  great 
integrity  won  their  confidence,  whilst  his  peculiar  sagacity 
and  practical  judgment  led  them  to  seek  his  advice,  and 
rely  upon  his  opinions.  I  am  informed  by  one  who  was 
present  at  that  time,  that  he  was  regarded  by  the  Sena- 
tors who  knew  him  best,  as  an  authority  upon  all  ques- 
tions of  political  history  and  constitutional  law." 

Mr.  Lowrie's  Christian  character  was  tried,  and  at  last 
Durified  and  ennobled,  while  he  remained  in  contact  with 
influences  that  prove  fatal  to  so  many  public  men  pro- 


6 

fessing  godliness.  He  impressed  himself  strongly  upon 
other  Christian  men,  and  even  upon  those  in  high  places 
who  were  not  religious.  But  he  escaped  the  perils  of  his 
position  only  through  the  constant  and  powerful  influence 
of  his  home,  the  communion  of  saints,  and  the  grace  of  God 
shed  on  him  abundantly  through  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord. 

It  should  be  stated,  too,  that  during  the  eighteen  years 
of  his  connection  with  the  Senate  of  the  United  States,  he 
was  receiving  a  special  providential  training  for  the  work 
to  which  God  was  about  to  call  him.  One  might  as  well 
deny  a  plan  of  God  in  the  case  of  Moses,  as  of  Mr. 
Lowrie.  The  Jewish  lawgiver  was  forty  years  in  the 
family  and  court  of  Pharaoh,  forty  in  the  land  of  Midian, 
and  forty  at  the  head  of  the  tribes;  the  last  third  of  his 
life  embracing  the  years  and  the  work,  for  which  the 
other  two-thirds  were  a  constant  preparation.  A  similar 
division  exists  in  the  fewer  years  of  Mr.  Lowrie's  life; 
and  I  have  no  doubt  that  all  the  years  prior  to  his  con- 
nection with  the  Senate  of  his  own  State,  and  all  that  he 
spent  in  discharging  the  duties  of  a  statesman,  were  in 
fact,  and  were  meant  to  be,  preparatory,  in  many  ways, 
to  his  great  work  in  connection  with  the  cause  of  missions. 

It  is  certain  that  our  work  among  the  Indian  tribes, 
encompassed  with  so  many  difficulties,  and  requiring 
correspondence  and  personal  influence  with  the  Depart- 
ment of  Indian  Affairs  at  Washington,  could  not  have 
been  successfully  carried  forward,  without  a  very  intimate 
knowledge  of  at  least  that  Department  of  the  Govern- 
ment. It  was  not  in  vain,  therefore,  that  Mr.  Lowrie, 
while  in  the  Senate,  was  a  member  of  the  Committee  on 
Indian  Affairs,  and  profoundly  interested  in  the  fate  and 
the  evangelization  of  the  tribes. 

So,  too,  he  co-operated  with  good  men  at  Washington 
in  the  management  of  the  American  Colonization  Society, 


and  let  his  large  Christian  sympathies  flow  out  towards 
the  black  man  in  this  country,  and  on  the  continent  of 
Africa, 

With  India  he  was  brought  into  living  connection, 
while  still  Secretary  of  the  Senate,  by  the  departure  of 
his  eldest  son,  the  Rev.  John  C.  Lowrie,  to  the  northern 
provinces  of  that  vast  country. 

And  by  a  strange  providence  he  was  led  to  give  his 
heart  to  the  Chinese  people,  before  God  called  him  to  give 
two  of  his  sons,  the  Rev.  Walter  M.  Lowrie  and  the  Rev. 
Reuben  Lowrie,  as  missionaries  to  the  same  people ;  the 
first  to  meet  the  death  of  a  martyr,  and  the  second  to 
sink  under  the  climate  and  his  severe  labours.  Of  these 
two  sons  it  may  be  said  with  perfect  truth,  that  they 
were  among  the  ablest  and  most  consecrated  men  ever 
sent  by  the  Church  to  the  Foreign  field. 

For  some  time,  I  do  not  know  how  long,  Mr.  Lowrie 
pursued  the  study  of  the  Chinese  language,  rising  two 
hours  earlier  than  usual,  not  to  interfere  with  his  duties 
as  Secretary  of  the  Senate.  In  this  way  he  prepared 
himself  in  some  measure,  before  he  knew  the  plan  of  God 
for  his  future  life,  for  the  work  of  founding  and  conduct- 
ing missions,  at  the  very  heart  of  the  pagan  world. 

It  is  but  little  that  can  be  said  in  this  sketch  of  Mr. 
Lowrie's  work,  as  Corresponding  Secretary  of  the  Board 
of  Foreign  Missions.  The  acceptance  of  the  office  in- 
volved great  self-denial,  and  many  sacrifices ;  and  this 
was  the  charm  by  which  the  office  secured  its  incumbent. 
So  he  himself  declared.  For  a  lucrative  office,  he  chose 
one  that  never  supported  his  family.  He  abandoned  a 
beautiful  home  with  ample  grounds,  for  a  dwelling  in  the 
city  and  the  confinement  of  an  office.  At  the  age  of 
fifty-two  he  relinquished  a  post  of  honour,  with  the  duties 
of  which   he  had  become  perfectly  familiar,  and  which 


8 

were  comparatively  easy,  to  put  liis  hand  to  a  work 
which  no  one  understood,  which  one  of  the  strongest  men 
in  our  Church,  to  whom  its  oversight  was  offered,  decHned 
to  undertake,  and  in  doing  which,  for  more  than  thirty 
years,  Mr.  Lowrie  found  no  rest  from  toil  and  care  and 
responsibility.  It  was  work  in  the  office;  in  the  market 
place;  at  the  seat  of  Government;  in  the  Church;  and 
among  our  Indian  tribes.  He  had  valuable  counsellors 
and  willing  hands  to  help  him,  but  it  was  his  habit  to 
think  of  everything.  He  was  immensely  and  minutely 
practical,  and  even  when  office  duties  had  become  so 
heavy  that  help  was  necessary,  and  his  own  natural 
strength  was  somewhat  abated,  he  held  his  mind  in  con- 
tact with  all  questions  of  policy,  and  most  of  the  plans 
and  estimates  for  prosecuting  and  enlarging  the  work. 

Few  persons,  probably,  can  appreciate  the  delicacy,  the 
difficulty,  and  the  importance  of  the  work  done  in  the 
office  by  a  Corresponding  Secretary  of  the  Board  of  For- 
eign Missions.  He  is  in  contact  with  the  missionaries 
and  the  heathen,  on  the  one  hand ;  and  on  the  other, 
with  the  kindred  of  the  missionaries ;  with  many  pastors 
and  churches;  with  the  entire  church  for  which  he  acts; 
and  with  missionary  societies  of  other  branches  of  the 
Christian  church.  He  is  cut  off  from  the  intimate  and 
endeared  relationships  to  families  and  churches  that  pas- 
tors enjoy.  He  is  the  servant  of  all  men.  He  is  liable 
to  frequent  interruptions,  and  he  has  no  prospect  of 
reward,  till  his  work  ceases,  and  he  enters  into  rest. 

Mr.  Lowrie  was  pre-eminently  qualified  for  hard  work 
at  the  table,  and  among  the  details  of  office  work.  His 
mind  was  calm  and  judicial.  It  had  possession  of  great 
principles,  discovered  by  broad  inquiry,  and  the  patient 
study  of  particulars  relating  to  his  work,  or  found  clearly 
revealed  in  the  Word  of  God.     For  this  reason  his  letters 


to  missionaries  and  missions,  on  matters  of  vital  impor- 
tance, were  often  so  direct  and  simple,  as  to^  have  the 
appearance — at  least  to  those  not  familiar  with  the  full 
details  of  the  matters  under  consideration — of  being  com- 
mon-place.  Just  as  the  ablest  sermons,  that  treat  of  dif- 
ficult subjects  with  seeming  ease,  are  thought  to  be 
wanting  in  depth  and  power,  by  those  who  do  not  know 
at  what  a  cost  of  labour  such  results  are  reached. 

The  same  habits  of  mind  revealed  themselves  in  the 
deliberations  of  the  Executive  Committee  and  the  Board. 
Quietly  and  earnestly,  but  in  a  few  words,  and  with 
great  decision,  Mr.  Lowrie  expressed  his  opinions.  He 
was  not  afraid  to  be  in  a  minority  and  even  alone, 
because  his  convictions  were  so  strong.  And  rarely  did 
he  fail  to  fasten  his  own  convictions  upon  other  minds. 

I  have  alluded  to  his  work  in  the  market  place.  For 
a  number  of  years  supplies  of  food  and  clothing,  with 
household  utensils  and  farming  implements,  were  for- 
warded from  New  York,  and  other  cities,  to  our  Indian 
Missions  in  the  West  and  Southwest.  This  imposed  an 
immense  amount  of  labour  on  the  office  of  our  Board  in 
Centre  street;  and  in  this  labour  Mr.  Lowrie  bore  his 
part.  He  reckoned  nothing  little,  or  beneath  his  per- 
sonal attention  and  toil,  that  could  minister  to  the  wel- 
fare of  the  missionaries  and  those  under  their  care,  or  in 
any  way  help  the  cause  of  Christ. 

His  visits  to  AVashington,  on  business  connected  with 
the  missions  among  the  Indians,  if  not  frequent  from 
year  to  year,  were  in  the  aggregate  very  numerous. 
They  always  taxed  his  strength  severely,  and  often  called 
into  requisition  all  the  experience  and  influence  he  had 
acquired  during  his  long  and  intimate  association  with 
the  Government. 

The  labours  of  Mr.  Lowrie,  in  the  Church,  for  many 


10 

years,  were  very  arduous  and  effective.  He  called  upon 
people  at  their  houses,  to  secure  contributions  for  various 
purposes  connected  with  the  work  of  missions.  He 
attended  monthly  concerts,  visited  Theological  Semin- 
aries, Presbyteries  and  Synods,  and  went  to  the  General 
Assembly,  always  bearing  the  great  cause  of  Foreign 
Missions  on  his  heart.  Many  will  remember  his  tender 
and  persuasive  addresses.  Perfectly  familiar  with  all  the 
details  of  the  work,  the  wants  of  the  heathen,  the  feeble 
responses  of  the  Church  to  calls  for  men  and  money  to 
evangelize  the  world,  and  knowing  well  the  ability  of  the 
Church  to  do  all  that  the  providence  of  God  required,  and 
the  claims  of  Jesus  upon  his  blood-bought  people,  he 
made  his  statements  and  appeals,  with  such  force  and 
melting  tenderness,  as  to  call  forth  many  tears,  and  pro- 
duce deep  and  lasting  impressions.  The  saving  of  a  little 
child  from  heathenism ;  the  conversion  of  an  Indian, 
African,  Hindoo,  or  Chinaman;  the  establishment  of  a  new 
mission,  or  the  enlarging  of  an  old  one,  was,  in  his  view, 
a  matter  of  vast  moment  and  sacred  interest.  He  won- 
dered that  Christian  men  especially,  and  pastors  of 
churches,  could  disparage  the  missionary  papers,  that 
were  constantly  reporting  such  things.  With  great  sim- 
plicity, and  often  in  tears,  he  related  incidents  connected 
with  the  progress  of  missions,  and  relied  upon  them  to 
impress  others  as  they  did  himself. 

The  visits  of  Mr.  Lowrie  to  the  Indian  tribes  in  our 
country,  were  among  the  most  arduous  and  important  of 
all  his  official  labours.  It  was  the  writer's  privilege  to 
accompany  him  in  the  spring  of  1847  to  Spencer  Acad- 
emy, then  a  flourishing  school,  under  the  care  of  our 
Board,  among  the  Choctaw  Indians,  about  ten  miles  from 
the  Red  River,  and  a  hundred  and  twenty-five  southwest 
from  Fort  Smith  in  Arkansas.     By  day  and   night  for 


11 

two  months,  in  all  sorts  of  conveyances  and  apartments, 
I  held  delightful  fellowship  with  him  as  a  son  with  a 
father.  He  was  then  sixty-three  years  old.  From 
pretty  full  notes  of  travel  taken  at  the  time,  it  would  be 
easy  to  give  a  very  definite  idea  of  the  hardships  he  en- 
dured, the  labour  he  performed,  and  the  varied  interests  he 
sought  to  promote.  He  never  spared  himself.  From  the 
29th  day  of  March,  to  the  21st  of  April,  with  few  inter- 
ruptions, we  were  making  our  way  by  rail,  by  stage,  and 
by  steamer,  to  Fort  Smith  at  the  head  of  navigation  on 
the  Arkansas  Ptiver. 

Under  date  of  Saturday,  April  3d,  while  we  were  at 
Cincinnati,  I  find  this  record,  which  gives  a  hint,  at  least, 
in  regard  to  one  object  of  his  visit:  "Accompanied  Mr. 
T and  Mr.  Lowrie,  to  various  places,  shops  of  arti- 
sans of  different  kinds.  Mr.  Lowrie  is  looking-  at  errist 
mills,  corn  shellers,  steam  engines,  and  a  carding,  spinning 
and  weaving  machine,  with  the  view  of  purchasing  some 
or  all  of  them  for  use  among  the  Indians." 

On  the  21st  of  April,  we  took  horse  at  Fort  Smith, 
and,  passing  immediately  into  the  Indian  Territory,  pur- 
sued our  solitary  way  towards  Spencer  Academy.  The 
path  led  us  across  beautiful  rolling  prairies,  over  rugged 
hills,  and  through  bridgeless  streams.  At  night  we  slept 
in  Indian  houses,  and  partook  of  their  coarse  but  plentiful 
fare.  Our  midday  lunch,  consisting  generally  of  a  little 
bacon  and  some  corn  dodgers,  was  eaten  beside  a  cool 
spring,  or  clear  brook,  where  we  tethered  our  horses,  and 
rested  a  while,  enjoying  the  perfect  solitude,  and  holding 
Christian  communion  never  to  be  forgotten.  Mr.  Low- 
rie's  whole  being  was  open  to  impressions  from  nature. 
He  was  perfectly  at  home  among  the  lilies  of  the  field, 
the  trees  of  the  forest,  the  running  streams,  and  the  ever- 
lasting hills.     He  knew  the  names  of  most  of  the  birds, 


12 

and  was  delighted  when  once  we  came  suddenly  upon 
some  deer  feeding  in  an  oak  grove.  He  noticed  every 
chano-e  in  soil  and  in  geological  formations,  and  would  read- 
ily dismount  to  secure  a  new  fossil.  He  was  quick  to 
perceive  the  points  of  beauty  in  a  landscape,  and  the 
glories  of  the  sky.  And  often  his  heart  was  too  full  for 
silence,  and  burst  out  in  words  of  sacred  song,  or  scrip- 
ture, and  in  ascriptions  of  praise.  But  nothing  stirred 
him  so  deeply  as  living  contact  with  the  Indians  them- 
selves, many  of  whom  we  saw  in  making  our  horseback 
journey  through  their  country.  His  heart  was  melted  to 
tenderness  for  them.  At  Spencer  Academy  he  was 
employed  almost  without  rest  from  Saturday,  the  day  of 
our  arrival,  until  Thursday  following,  in  arranging  family 
matters;  projecting  improvements  on  the  buildings  and 
the  farm;  revising  accounts;  hearing  the  recitation  of 
the  scholars;  conducting  and  enjoying  religious  worship 
on  the  Sabbath;  and  conferring  with  the  chiefs  and  lead- 
ing men  of  the  Choctaw  Nation. 

I  should  be  glad,  if  the  space  devoted  to  this  sketch 
v/ould  allow  me  to  give  an  account  of  the  last  two  nights 
of  our  return  journey,  for  the  purpose  of  showing  to  what 
discomforts  and  perils  Mr.  Lowrie  willingly  submitted  in 
the  prosecution  of  his  great  work.  He  endured  hardness 
as  a  good  soldier  of  Jesus  Christ.  From  thirty  to  fifty 
miles  in  the  saddle,  several  days  in  succession,  will  try 
the  strength  of  men  who  have  not  reached  their  sixty- 
third  birthday. 

At  Fort  Smith,  on  Monday,  May  3d,  1847,  Mr.  Low- 
rie and  myself  parted  company;  he  to  pursue  his  lonely 
way  to  the  Creek,  Iowa,  and  Omaha  Missions,  and  I  to 
return  home.  I  conclude  this  notice  of  the  journey,  by  a 
short  extract  from  my  journal. 

"This  morning  Mr.  Lowrie  took  an  early  start  on  his 


13 

long  and  solitary  horseback  journey.  The  Rev.  Mr. 
Marshal  (from  Van  Buren)  and  myself,  accompanied  him 
to  the  flat  boat,  and  saw  him  safely  over  the  Arkansas 
River,  and  mounted  on  his  '  Charley.'  He  waved  his 
hat,  and  passed  on  to  do  his  important  work,  cheerfully 
sustaining  many  privations  and  hardships.  He  goes  first 
to  the  Creek  Mission,  thence  across  the  country  to  Inde- 
pendence on  the  Missouri  River,  and  thence,  by  water,  if 
possible,  (but  if  not,  on  horseback),  to  Council  Bluff"  and 
the  Iowa  and  Omaha  Missions," 

This  was  only  one  of  several  visits  made  b}'-  Mr.  Low- 
rie  to  the  Indian  missions.  The  result  of  his  personal 
agency  in  behalf  of  the  tribes  under  our  care,  and  the 
abundance  of  his  labours,  with  the  greatness  of  his  perils 
and  hardships,  can  never  be  known  till  the  Master  him- 
self reveals  them,  as  fruits  of  his  love  and  devotion. 

I  think  of  Mr.  Lowrie  habitually,  as  one  to  whom  the 
sacred  description  of  St.  Stephen,  the  first  Christian 
martyr,  applies  without  any  qualification  or  abatement — 
"  A  man  full  of  faith  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost."  It  pleased 
God  to  give  him  a  large  nature,  and  a  peculiar  provi- 
dential training  for  the  work  he  loved  so  well.  But  in 
addition  to  this,  by  early  revealing  to  him  the  plague  of 
his  heart,  and  placing  him  in  circumstances  where  his 
own  strength  was  felt  to  be  perfect  weakness,  as  a  defence 
against  worldly  influences.  He  led  him  to  ask  until  he 
obtained,  in  large  measure,  that  most  precious  gift,  "Faith, 
the  substance  of  things  hoped  for,  the  evidence  of  things 
not  seen."  The  infinite  objects  of  the  Christian  hope 
were  as  real  to  him  as  the  ground  on  which  he  walked. 
The  unseen  things  of  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven  had  a 
demonstrated  existence  to  his  soul,  that  made  them  vastly 
more  precious  and  influential  than  all  the  objects  of  sense. 
This  was  in  part  the  secret  of  his  superiority  to  the  world, 


14 

and  the  consecration  of  himself,  his  children,  and  his 
possessions,  to  Christ  and  his  cause. 

But  it  is  not  without  design  that  Stephen  is  described 
as  a  man  "  full  of  the  Holy  Ghost,"  as  well  as  of  faith; 
and  this  part  of  the  description  has  its  equal  meaning  in 
reference  to  Mr.  Lowrie.  His  thoughts,  affections,  and 
purposes  were  controlled  by  Him.  He  was  a  living  temple 
of  the  living  God,  A  Person  of  the  Godhead  occupied 
his  whole  spirit  and  soul  and  body,  and  moved  him  by 
the  Holy  Scriptures,  by  the  precious  ordinances  of  God's 
house,  by  sacred  providences,  and  by  his  own  still  small 
voice,  as  clear  sometimes  to  the  consecrated  soul  as  the 
human  voice  to  the  ear,  to  keep  back  nothing  from  his 
Redeemer  and  Master,  to  spend  and  be  spent  for  him ; 
to  forsake  all  that  he  had,  and  not  to  count  his  life  dear 
unto  him,  that  he  might  win  and  glorify  Christ.  He 
called  Him  his  Master.     He  delis-hted  in  his  service.     It 

O 

was  perfect  liberty  to  him  to  have  every  thought  brought 
into  captivity  to  the  obedience  of  Christ.  No  doubt  he 
had  his  faults,  but  I  do  not  know  what  they  were,  unless 
we  must  reckon  it  a  fault  to  be  blunt  and  outspoken  against 
evil,  to  denounce  selfishness  that  sacrifices  the  precious 
interests  of  Christ's  cause  to  personal  ease  and  emolu- 
ment, and  to  hate  falsehood  and  pretence. 

It  was  Mr.  Lowrie' s  faith,  wrought  and  maintained  by 
the  Holy  Ghost,  that  gave  to  the  prophecies  and  promises 
of  scripture,  relating  to  the  spread  and  triumph  of  the 
gospel  in  the  whole  world,  so  much  power  over  his  heart 
and  life.  Really  believing  that  as  many  as  sin  without 
law,  shall  also  perish  without  law,  he  believed  that  in  the 
last  days  the  mountain  of  the  Lord's  house  shall  be  estab- 
lished in  the  top  of  the  mountains,  and  exalted  above  the 
hills,  and  all  nations  shall  flow  unto  it: — that  Jesus 
Christ  is  a  light  to  lighten  the  Gentiles  and  the  glory  of 


15 

Israel;  that  there  is  no  other  name  under  heaven  given 
among  men  whereby  we  must  be  saved ;  that  for  this 
reason  he  must  be  preached  among  all  nations,  and  the 
presence  and  power  of  his  Spirit  invoked  in  behalf  of  all, 
till  the  wilderness  and  solitary  places  of  the  earth  rejoice 
and  blossom  as  the  rose. 

In  this  faith  he  lived  and  died,  leaving  to  the  Church  a 
legacy  of  toil  and  consecration  and  prayer,  which  she  may 
well  prize. 

Happy  in  his  second  marriage  as  in  his  first,  blessed  in 
his  children  and  children's  children,  and  also  in  his  work, 
he  came  to  the  grave  in  a  full  age,  like  as  a  shock  of  corn 
cometh  in  his  season.  Carlyle  celebrates  "The  sumless 
worth  of  a  man,"  and  Bayne  in  his  "  Christian  Life,'' 
with  more  Christian  views,  dwells  upon  the  theme. 
Surely  none  but  God  can  make  such  a  man,  as  we  know 
Mr.  Lowrie  was  and  is,  and  to  him  let  all  the  glory  be 
given.     His    face  was  the  index  of   his    character,   the 

o 

mirror  of  his  soul;  and  as  we  recall  it  now,  or  gaze  upon 
its  most  faithful  representation  in  Ritchie's  engraving,  we 
can  only  be  thankful  that  we  knew  and  loved  him — and 
that  now  he  rests  from  his  labours,  and  his  works  do 
follow  him. 


DATE  DUE 

CAYLORO 

PRINTCO  INU.S*. 

1 

1    1012  01043  2633 


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